I WILL FIX MY EYES ON YOU!
After Samuel anointed Saul as king, he escorted him to the edge of the city and said, “Stand thou still a while, that I may show thee the word of God" (1 Samuel 9:27). Imagine! Israel's king was commanded to stand still rather than act.
Samuel was saying, "Saul, I have just anointed you, and already your mind is racing. You're thinking, 'What is God doing? How can I know His voice, His will?' Stop striving, Saul! Do you want to hear from God? Then stand still and listen and I will give you God's word."
This perfectly illustrates the principle I want to emphasize here: The word of the Lord — the voice of direction and deliverance — is given to those who stand still before God.
Judah was being invaded by a coalition of mighty armies and Scripture says that King Jehoshaphat "feared, and set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah" (2 Chronicles 20:3).
The people began to pray, “In thine hand is there not power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee? . . . For we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon thee" (verses 6, 12).
Once again, we see that there is nothing wrong with being afraid. God is longsuffering toward us, and He does not hold our fear against us. In fact, we are to pray the same prayer that Jehoshaphat prayed: "Lord, I'm frightened! The enemy is coming in like a flood, and I don't know what to do. But I know that You have all power and might, so I will do nothing, Lord, except pray. I will fix my eyes on You."
The Spirit commanded: "Be not afraid nor dismayed . . . for the battle is not yours, but God's. . . . Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the Lord with you" (verses 15-17).
The phrase set yourself means "take your position; do not waver in this matter." In other words: "Take a position of faith. Be convinced that it is the Lord's battle to fight — not yours!"
Samuel was saying, "Saul, I have just anointed you, and already your mind is racing. You're thinking, 'What is God doing? How can I know His voice, His will?' Stop striving, Saul! Do you want to hear from God? Then stand still and listen and I will give you God's word."
This perfectly illustrates the principle I want to emphasize here: The word of the Lord — the voice of direction and deliverance — is given to those who stand still before God.
Judah was being invaded by a coalition of mighty armies and Scripture says that King Jehoshaphat "feared, and set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah" (2 Chronicles 20:3).
The people began to pray, “In thine hand is there not power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee? . . . For we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon thee" (verses 6, 12).
Once again, we see that there is nothing wrong with being afraid. God is longsuffering toward us, and He does not hold our fear against us. In fact, we are to pray the same prayer that Jehoshaphat prayed: "Lord, I'm frightened! The enemy is coming in like a flood, and I don't know what to do. But I know that You have all power and might, so I will do nothing, Lord, except pray. I will fix my eyes on You."
The Spirit commanded: "Be not afraid nor dismayed . . . for the battle is not yours, but God's. . . . Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the Lord with you" (verses 15-17).
The phrase set yourself means "take your position; do not waver in this matter." In other words: "Take a position of faith. Be convinced that it is the Lord's battle to fight — not yours!"